Social Media Impact on Society, Relationships, & Attitudes - Essay Sample

Introduction

The following paper is prepared with a study of the impact of social media on the changes in society, relationships, and attitudes. It is a fact that social media affects the social norms in everyday life. But the scale of effect could vary depending on the person. The study is based on investigating people in two cohorts. First includes five people who use social media frequently on their daily basis. Normally the selected subjects use social media for two or more hours a day. The people in the second cohorts are the ones who rarely use social media. Some of the selected subjects in the second cohort do not use any social media during their routine behavior. Same as the first, the second cohort includes five people in the list. The ages of the selected people were taken into consideration to maintain consistency and for a better comparison between two cohorts. The selected profile in the two cohorts is in similar age ranges.

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The first profile of the cohort Tim is a fashion designer who is 26. He is a well-known character in his field for his talent. A frequent user of social media and is with a piece of updated knowledge in the field of art. The personal relationships of the person seem to be in a healthy state, and he uses social media to be connected. The second profile is Kevin, a graphic designer in a company. He is 24 and is a busy character due to his occupation. A strict person concerning his schedules but strives to maintain relationships with whom he is connected with. The third is a businessman Tom, who is currently in a real state. He is 27. He seeks independence on his ideas and likes to have his own free time. Certainly, the ideas of Tom are influenced by social media. The fourth of cohort Mike, a vessel planner age 24. He is bonded with his work to a greater extent and is a person who has less priority for his relationships. The fifth is a law student Beth age 23. She is also an independent character, looks to express her thoughts and perspectives in each topic. Social media has given her a platform in this case, and she is very keen on using it.

The second cohort of rare users of social media consists of 5 profiles that were being considered under the study. The first profile is a dancer, Pam, age 28. She has her academy of dancing and a talented person in her field. An expressive person she maintains her relationships well in a healthy state. The second is a medical student Jen, age 22. A more devoted character towards her work, she maintains her relationships in a balanced level. The third profile is Karen, age 26, an operations manager in a company. She is a busy character and an occasional user of social media, bonded with her work schedules, and low concern towards maintaining relationships. The fourth person in this cohort is an executive officer in a bank; she is Susan, age 24 and an open-minded character interested in social trends. The final selected character for this cohort is a civil engineer Charles, age 25. An active character in his field and other streams he is related to, Rare user of social media and gives a higher concentration on maintaining his relationships.

The above characters were selected by considering the attitudes, performances in their field, and the social media usage towards their occupational and relationship objectives. All the selected profiles play active roles in their field. When considering the two cohorts, some similarities could be seen in the characters. All are competitive key characters in their field of occupation, and profiles of both the cohorts spare majority of their time towards improving it. Ages of all the characters are in the range of 22-27. The needs-based on age is the same for both cohorts.

When considered the attitudes, the ones who are more exposed to social media show more expressive characteristics. A piece of updated knowledge on their field could be seen from them, and open ideas are expressed from them. They have a wider network of relationships than cohort 02 and easy access to them, but for the cohort, two people are more towards inner selves. Most of them seem to talk less, and even their lifestyles reflect this. But the selected characters in cohort 01 show more freedom in their selected lifestyles. In the case of relationships, it seems that it depends on the choices of each. Social media does not show a major contribution to decision making regarding the relationships. Each character shows different approaches and interests in relationships. It seems the attitudes from their core, plays a huge role in contribution. But the common fact for both cohorts is that in widening the network of relationships, the social media has supported positively. The frequent users seem to depend on social media for almost everything and each moment of their lives are connected with it. So, it effectively acts in each decision of those peoples' lives and their instant choices. But the rare users play independent roles when it comes to making decisions, and those choices are not influenced much by social media. So, each decision is made based on their knowledge and past experiences. They show more responsibility towards their decisions while cohort 01 profiles seem to find excuses for some of their decisions. The feeds from social media platforms might have a potential contribution to this behavior.

According to the cultivation theory, "exposure to media over time cultivates viewers' perceptions of reality." This study also revealed that social media potentially influence frequent users. The feed from social media cultivates the ideas in the everyday life of people and contributes in decision making. In the case of frequent users' social media has become a part of their lives. It has a close relationship with the changes in society and the attitudes of people according to the changes. Socialization theory suggests that "an individual's peer groups, rather than parental figures, influence his or her personality and behavior in adulthood." The research indicates the application of this theory in the lives of frequent users of social media. The cohort 01 people are usually more connected with the people in their field. Most of the time one's peer group consists of the people with the same kind of perspectives towards life. Social media makes a greater contribution in this process. It was reflected when each profile was assessed, and a clear impact from social media could be seen from the frequent users. So, it can be concluded that their social media usage impacts the habits, attitudes, values and beliefs of one's life. And it contributes to the development of social standards, relationships and to alter social norms in everyday life.

The following article is prepared by comparing findings of the research conducted under the topic, "Societal standards in relation to social media and how this can alter social norms in everyday life.". Additionally, the ideas of previous researches under "Social media and society." In the conducted research, ten people of two different cohorts, representing frequent users and rare users of social media, were being observed. And three articles written under the above topic were being studied which reveals the various effects on society by social media both positively and negatively.

In the research, similarities and differences between the two cohorts are discussed by considering their attitudes, lifestyles, and relationships. It was a clear fact that each profile follows their way of living, which was nourished by their attitudes, social exposure, family background, and past experiences. But it was also clear that the majority of the examined profiles take social media into use, to widen and develop their relationships with others. It has supported in a positive way to be in a connected environment. Most of their ideas and choices also being improved by social media feeds. Cultivation theory and socialization theory were also visible in practice in their lives without knowledge. So, the conclusion from the conducted research was that most in society use social media in a greater extent with different objectives. But the common outcome has to be the creation of connected surrounding in the lives. The impact of social media on a normal lifestyle is a visible fact. But there are both positive and negative effects. So, it should be considered whether the advantages of being optimized to increase the positive effects and whether the current state of social media is acting to enhance them. And whether the influencing being done with the full potential should thoroughly be considered.

The first article reviewed was "Impact of social media on interpersonal communication patterns" by "Velga Vevere." It was written with a discussion about the problems of social media communication and its impact on everyday communicative behavior. The discussion is parallel with "Soren Kierkegaard's media criticism." According to Velga, "The whole complex of relations includes science, technology, politics, social actions, philosophy and, last but not the least, the religious life." The author indicates the range of areas affected by social media.

Further stating that "A human being is not capable of love and action anymore, save the emptying rational thinking fostered by emerging mass media." This indicates the negative effects. This means the human being is not capable of thinking independently anymore. Social media govern the thinking patterns of humankind. The contemporary media philosophers' point is mentioned here, which is being used to express the importance of media by the philosophers. "The speed and fast dissemination of information change the way we communicate essentially." Levelling and loss of individuality, anonymity, noise, and publicity are further discussed negative factors of social media by the author. According to that fast information, dissemination could lead to the loss of privacy in life.

Further, the article speaks about the "New life experience for human beings, which in turn will lead the transformation of economic activities, cultural patterns, interactional styles, and other aspects of human society." The article includes the data of a survey conducted using students, which highlights the ideas spread in society about modern day communication modes, the effects of social media and the perspectives of people. So, in an overall view, the research article discusses both negative and positive effects.

The secondly selected article was "Relationships, Community, and Identity in the New Virtual Society" by Arnold Brown. The author considers the online social lives and how it can be utilized for the betterment. Further, it states the online relationships and how to be updated. How to create a structured space in social media for creating relationships has been the main focus. It further highlights the idea of the author about future social media usage by using the following words. "The composition of, and behavior in, relationships and households in the future will, therefore, change seriously. These trends powerfully affect how companies and organizations design, sales, and marketing. The design organizes a wide range of products and services to consumers. The design emphasizes distinctiveness."

"Alt_right White Lite: trolling, hate speech and cyber racism on social media" by Andrew Jakubowicz was the third article reviewed for this work. This includes a clear explanation about the hate speech and cyber racism in social media with examples. These incidents explained are important recent events that took place which pinpoints the extreme effects of social media on each of them. Antisemitism is online racism. The study covers many ethnic, racial and religious groups, anti...